Recently, Haven Campus Church on the Central Coast of NSW hosted a “Kindness Carnival” fundraiser for ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) Australia. The carnival raised more than A$8500 for ADRA’s NSW mid-north coast flood response.
A month earlier, Pastor Jack Ryder offered four envelopes containing $100 to anyone who wanted to take on the challenge. The intention was that the money would be used to make a difference in someone’s life.
“The four individuals who took the challenge decided to pool their resources for the Kindness Carnival,” says Brenton Luchow, ADRA Australia’s church engagement officer. “They decided that any funds raised would go to supporting ADRA’s mid-north coast flood response and disaster relief fund.”
Suzan Abel, one of the church members who took on the challenge, says, “As we began bouncing ideas around, we realised we could do so much more together with our $400 church investment than we could on our own. That little challenge grew into something much bigger: a full-blown community event, with fresh pizzas, a buzzing op shop, face painting, live music and so much heart.”
What began with $400 turned into an uplifting community night with around 500 people turning out.
“The night was full of life,” says Abel. “More than 180 made-from-scratch pizzas sold, more than 200 op shop items found new homes and 60 little faces were painted.
“Early on, we realised our budget wouldn’t come close to covering food costs, so we put the call out to the church and they responded! Within 12 hours, the cost of one of our biggest ingredients, cheese, was completely covered!”
The night would not have been possible without its 64 volunteers.
“It was heartwarming to see our church family come together in full force to fill needs, serve our community, raise money and have a great deal of fun doing it!”
The fundraiser was also an opportunity for Haven Campus Church to engage with their local community.
“Our musicians all gave of their time freely, but a special shout-out goes to Rare Treats, who aren’t part of our church community and are usually booked out on Saturday nights,” says team member Bec Clarke. “When they saw our last-minute request, they checked their calendar —miraculously free—and quickly agreed to play for us on a zero-dollar budget. After the event, they shared that while they’re not religious, ‘something felt right’ about the community atmosphere at the carnival.”
To find out more about ADRA, visit adra.org.au.
